COUNTING THE COST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 21, 26 January 1903, Page 4

COUNTING THE COST.

(Exchange.) Appended to the report of the Colonial Conference, held in Londoa iu Jane and July of last year, is an interesting return of the cost of tho war and the proportion in which that cost was borne by the Mother Cauntry and the colonies. The expenditure borne by the Mother Country is set dow.n at £222,974,000, or £5 7a 24 par head of the population. Out of eviry thousand inhabitants in the United Kingdom on the average 8| served at tne front, la comparisoa the following figures are give a to indicate what proportion of Hhe burden of the war was borne by the self-governing cslonits: -

These figure* show the exact ptopir- ] -tionate service in money and taen which the coloni- s rendered, and reveal how splendidly New Zealard in pu--4 ticular rose to the qccasioc, coctributiog nearly as many men in proportion to her papulation as the United Kingdom, and sp'jndirg .£334,000 on them This miy appear a large sum fjr so small a colony to incur, but putting na'ional sentiment and the duty to nphold the lmpei ial unity intact, on one side and looked at s lely from a business a-pect, abundant proof is making it evident that as r.n investment it will retui n more to us than any one of the £56,000,000 fj have already spent. New Zealand to-d>y is mrfb widely known throughout the world in consequence of this expenditure, and her action during thenar, than 10 years of ordinary life would j have produced. It has been to'd in every leadicg newspaper and at grdnt public functions fiom the lips of thos 3 ■- who are looked up to as the best (Dot only in England but in cth'r lands), how this colony sent 6000 of her bravist and best with a promp and carel fs count of the cost that won admira'ion from friends and enemies alike, and the nnral effect was appreciated by the most able men cf thi age, and proLOunccd profound. Sma'l though the incident) wss, it was an incident to spontaneous that i s moral significance may have been a fxc'or in I arresting the interference of other! Powers for tho overwhelming of our race. The very ngme of Xew Zealand to-day is a charm which opaDs the dosr to trade, commerc, and sociil life. Well, too, for us .is it that our products are good ; they nearly a'l of their several kinds commsnd a ready sale at the highest prices; there is expansion of trade all round, and our commercial prosperity was never better or with a mo'e promising outlook. The tourist traffic 11 our shores has increase 1 and will rapidly become a great source of weal h. It is noticeable, too, that in comparing thi various horses bvught during the war New . Zetland bred ones were to good that remount officers are now on their way to purchase others for the South Africm service. There will be p. rebound in Ssuth Africa which may to some extent by its magnitude overshadow us for a time. According to cables just to hand, whilst the Trans-

vaal is contributing £30,000,000 towards the cost of the war, she is also "borrowing and expending £30,000,000 in public works. The O ange Co'ony £5,000,000 for similar pu-p>sis, Natal and the Capp probably foUowir.g. When we consider all this expenditure in a public work* in tfce immediate future, together with other pu l lie and private expenditure, amounting in the aggregate to £50,C0 "'■,ool, it behoves us to be viJe i wake and s'O that our produce ij well represented in that mirket.

No. rer No. of ms-i 1030. Cost. sect. Canada 15 2s 41 8400 New South Wales 5i 9i 6;08 Victoria 3a 2s 3i 3597 Queensland 6 83 7d 2393 Booth Aostra'ia .. 4 4s 6d 1491 West Australia .. 6g Sa a 1165 TaamanU 4) 64 796 Mew Zealand s 8s 81 6000